Floral tribute to larry and martina hayes

There will be a floral tribute at the gates of the Athlone Town FC Stadium in memory of the late Larry and Martina Hayes this week.

Larry’s brother Seamus played with Athlone and was assistant manager with the club, while his nephew Anthony also played in the blue and black stripes.

Friends and supporters are invited to lay flowers and club colours at the memorial, which began on Tuesday afternoon.

In the Dáil yesterday, a minute’s silence was observed as a mark of respect to three victims of the Tunisian terrorist massacre.
Leading tributes, Taoiseach Enda Kenny expressed his “sadness and horror” on behalf of the government and the people of Ireland at the deaths of Lorna Carty and Martina and Laurence Hayes.   

“I know I speak for the House and the country when I say that our hearts go out to the three of them and to all those who loved them in their life and who mourn them so deeply in death. Nothing we can say or do can make up for their loss.”

He continued: “But to Declan, Simon and Sinead Carty and to Sinead Hayes and the extended Carty and Hayes families we offer what we can at this difficult time: our solidarity, our thoughts and our prayers'.

'Today, I want to send the condolences of the Irish people to the families in the UK and across the world who lost their loved ones. Equally, we stand with the people of Tunisia who feel shocked and betrayed. This attack was an act of hatred. It was a rejection of the values of respect, equality and freedom which we hold so dear.”  

“It was also an act of terror which aimed to undermine Tunisia – to damage its tourist industry and to spread hardship to the Tunisian people, to promote extremism and destroy Tunisia’s progress towards democracy and pluralism,” Mr Kenny concluded during Leaders Questions in the Dáil on Tuesday.